Douglas Fritz

It
took a while, but Johnson City finally earned a doubleheader split.

Justin
Ringo faced a 1-2 count before taking two close pitches for balls,
and then drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth inning
to give the Cardinals a 7-6 victory over Pulaski in game two —
which ended just after midnight Saturday morning at Cardinal Park.

“You
have to give both teams credit,” said Johnson City manager Joe
Kruzel. “They fell behind 6-1 and then scratched and clawed their
way back into the game. Both teams had chances in extra innings, and
we took advantage of the last opportunity.”

The
Mariners won 8-2 in the opener, making good use of 10 walks by
Johnson City pitchers.

The
Cardinals (12-9) remained two games behind Elizabethton (14-7) in

the
West Division.

With
two outs in the bottom of the ninth of a scheduled seven-inning game,
Ronnierd Garcia crushed his third double of the game. Brett Wiley,
who already had four RBIs in the game, was intentionally walked.

Then
Luis Perez drew a free pass, setting the stage for Ringo. Kruzel said
Ringo did a good job taking the two close pitches — calls that drew
the ire of Pulaski players and coaches during the game and afterward
as the umpires walked off the field.

“(Ringo)
was looking for something he could handle, and fortunately he was
able to get a couple of balls out of the zone,” said Kruzel.

Michael
Holback (2-0) picked up the win in relief, working two scoreless
innings. Zach Loraine tossed two scoreless innings before Holback
entered the game.

Wiley
finished 2 for 3 while Garcia was 3 for 5 with two RBIs and three
runs scored.

The
Cardinals' win took the luster off of Tyler Smith's 5-for-5
performance at the plate for the Mariners.

After
Pulaski pushed across a run in the top of the first inning in game
two, Johnson City jumped back with a three-spot in its first at-bats.
Garcia rapped an RBI double, and Wiley followed with a two-run double
down the right field line.

In
the second inning, the Cardinals cruised to a 6-1 lead as Garcia and
Wiley teamed up again. Garcia's RBI double was followed by Wiley's
two-run single.

However,
the Mariners had a fourth-inning answer. They plated five runs to tie
the game at 6-6. Kristian Brito started the rally with an RBI single,
and Raysheron Michal and Ian Miller later added RBI hits.

In
the first game, Pulaski got a two-run jack from Wilton Martinez in
the top of the second inning and never looked back.

The
Mariners got an RBI single from Joseph DeCarlo in the third inning,
and then put up a four spot in the fifth inning to make it 7-0. A
two-out error extended the inning, and Cardinals' pitchers issued
four of their 10 free passes in the inning. Martinez had an RBI
double in the extended frame.

Johnson
City finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth as Garcia
was hit by a pitch and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Garcia
accounted for the other run as well, pounding an RBI double in the
bottom of the seventh.

Jesus
Ugueto finished with two RBI for the Mariners while Luke Guarnaccia
totaled three hits and an RBI. Edwin Diaz got the win on the mound
with five shutout innings.

Vaughn
Bryan totaled two hits for Johnson City.

The
Cardinals travel to Bristol today to begin a three-game set before an
off day Tuesday because of Major League Baseball's All-Star Game.